Bowmanville POW camp - Bowmanville, ON
Posted by: 
jiggs11
N 43° 55.700 W 078° 39.978
17T E 687329 N 4866560
Last surviving World War II POW Camp in Canada, located near Bowmanville, ON.
Waymark Code: WM13JB4
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 12/24/2020
Views: 2
Camp 30 was one of about 25 foreign POW camps located in Canada, the majority in Ontario and Quebec. It is the only one still in existence.
From wikipedia:
"The Bowmanville POW camp also known as Camp 30 was a Canadian-run POW camp for German soldiers during World War II located in the community of Bowmanville, Ontario in Clarington, Ontario, Canada (2020 Lambs Road). In September 2013, the camp was designated a National Historic Site of Canada."
"The property remained as a boys training school until 1979 and various academic used until 2008 (school for overseas Malaysian students, St. Stephen's Catholic Secondary School and finally a private Islamic university).
In present times, the P.O.W. Camp 30 is greatly neglected. Buildings are boarded up, doors are blocked by dirt, or are also boarded up. All windows are broken, and interiors of the buildings are badly damaged with graffiti covering the walls, and drywall smashed. Most are also considered dangerous or a fire hazard (there is fire damage within all of the biggest buildings), but some remain in fairly good condition, with minimal water damage.
In 2013, Camp 30 received a spot on Heritage Canada's list for 'The top 10 endangered places of 2013' mainly because it was scheduled to be demolished, due to neglect of the buildings, and the value of the land to a developer. This demolition plan was cancelled later in 2013, after it was named a National Historic Site. Most agree that the site should be saved, but at the moment it is undecided what will be done with the property. "All we want to see is reuse of the buildings... some people want a big, beautiful museum, we understand the finances aren't there. We just want to see adaptive reuse" the president of ACO Clarington, Tracey Ali, said to the Clarington newspaper. The estimated amount to restore all buildings could go as high as $15,000,000.
The Clarington paper also reports of how a committee was created September 9, 2013 to look at how the buildings can be saved, and how they will be preserved. A heritage plaque is expected to be put up, given its landmark designation.
The site is currently in poor condition, vandalized, abandoned and neglected.
Today the cafeteria is little more than a brick shell, although the building's original freezer remains intact. Also, the basement has the remains of two boilers.
On July 5, 2016, the Municipality of Clarington announced that they had completed a purchase agreement with the current owners of the property, Kaitlin Developments and Fandor Homes.
This move has effectively saved the site from eventual destruction by a combination of vandalism, inadequate funding, and eventual home development. The sale includes a $500,000 donation to the Municipality to assist in the maintenance and care of the property in conjunction with an initial site cleanup. The cleanup will involve destroying buildings that have not received a historical status, cleaning up graffiti, and the installation of security cameras."
Easiest access is from Lambs Road.
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